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U.S. Army Medicine Civilian Corps Observes March as Women’s History Month

3/05/19 (Tue)

The U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) Civilian Corps joins in the observance of March as Women’s History Month. We honor the women who have acted in pivotal roles throughout the years of Army Medicine’s history – and recognize current female MEDCOM employees, both civilian and enlisted, that make history every day as they care for U.S. Army service members and their families.

Lieutenant General Nadja West is an exemplary woman in MEDCOM history. She has served as the U.S. Army Surgeon General since her confirmation in December 2015, which made her the first black Surgeon General and the first black woman to hold the rank of lieutenant general in the Army. In 2016, she was formally promoted to the role of Commanding General of MEDCOM.

LTG West, on the day of her promotion to Major General in 2013, said that, “We all want to see people who look like us doing certain things to give us inspiration. Hopefully, I can inspire someone to be able to say, ‘I can do that.’” West’s trailblazing attitude and venerable career path inspires both the women and men under her command and those outside of Army Medicine.

LTG West commands a diverse group of military and civilian personnel at Army Medicine hospitals and clinics around the globe. To fill those civilian opportunities, MEDCOM utilizes a specialized team of Human Resources Specialists to recruit nationwide and fill medical and behavioral healthcare positions.

MEDCOM’s civilian employees make up approximately 60% of the total Army Medicine workforce and are not subject to military requirements, such as enlistment or deployment. However, they do enjoy competitive salaries, generous health and life insurance policies, and access to state-of-the-art training & equipment at Army facilities.

“We are in constant pursuit of our Nation’s top talent to fill our critical vacancies. We are looking for the best and brightest candidates who are interested in joining our high-performing healthcare team; there are opportunities throughout the United States as well as overseas in places such as Germany, Italy, Japan, and Korea,” says Mr. Oscar Bocanegra, Director of Civilian Human Resources, Headquarters U.S. Army Medical Command, “By filling medical positions with our country’s most highly qualified candidates, the MEDCOM Civilian Corps can continue providing the best quality of care to U.S. Army uniformed service members, retired service members, their families and other eligible beneficiaries.”

MEDCOM comprises one of the largest healthcare networks in the world. It operates worldwide at more than 70 healthcare facilities and clinics, many of which are located at military bases within the United States. A large percentage of these bases are in rural locations, but function as self-sufficient entities. Low living costs make them excellent places to retire or start a family. Additionally, most are only hours away from major metropolitan areas.